What accessories requiring a 12v socket do you actually use?

[Alloy]

Depending on the loads you're considering and the OEM wiring, you may want to upgrade some or all of the wiring involved.

I prefer leaving OEM wiring alone or abandoning it in place, and installing an independent fuse box for these uses. You gain full knowledge of the auxiliary system, and remove concern about overtaxing whatever the OEM considered good enough.

A buddy pulled the box and built a deck for his 2019 F350 CC. When he unplugged the taillights the 2 front (not the back 2) power windows stopped working

 

[TantoTrailers]

Tire inflator, DryGuy boot dryer, portable vacuum (don't judge me), thats about it that goes into a cig lighter outlet for my setup.

 

[DaveInDenver]

A buddy pulled the box and built a deck for his 2019 F350 CC. When he unplugged the taillights the 2 front (not the back 2) power windows stopped working

You'll hear about weird side effects like that. The tail lights may have contained a CANbus termination or may have left a circuit unloaded that's causing PWM issues with a controller.

 

[67cj5]

None of my 3 power sources are connected to each other so any problems can be isolated a lot quicker and neither one can effect the other.

 

[Alloy]

You'll hear about weird side effects like that. The tail lights may have contained a CANbus termination or may have left a circuit unloaded that's causing PWM issues with a controller.

Yup...unplugging the lights removed the CANbus trrmination.

 

[Buddha.]

ive had a handful of cheap-o's fail, thats when I started buying better ones.. no anker one has let me down, the key is getting ones that are certified to spec, if they did that then they pretty good.

Here's a hardwire USB-C that seems pretty good, there's a USB-C thread here about it: https://www.coolgear.com/product/usb-power-delivery-60w-high-power-industrial-adapter-charger-ccg3pa

Using my SawZaw as a chain saw to harvest firewood burns through battery packs pretty quick, I bring 3 packs and rotate through em.

USB-C is really nice, charges devices so fast.. 30mins can get u a ton of charge back.. tablets and phones battery sizes are largely moot when you can charge so fast, and now even laptops run off em so no special laptop travel bricks.. just use same cable for your phone charger.. plus the ports are more robust and go in either direction w/out quantum uncertainty involved.

Anybody know if f a good surface mount usb-c?

 

[dreadlocks]

https://www.adafruit.com/product/4261 + https://www.coolgear.com/product/usb-power-delivery-60w-high-power-industrial-adapter-charger-ccg3pa

anything over about 18W for USB-C starts to become too big for 12V-ACC plugs.. and too big for surface mount, so you gotta use a passthrough + direct wire charger.

I'm waiting for their 100W version then I'll buy a few of em.. 60W would be perfectly fine for everything I have been using but I wanna do this once and wife just got a new work laptop that would use 100W output working from camp.

 

[IdaSHO]

Only thing I use a cig lighter port for is my Lenovo X1 Carbon.

The battery is a 19 or 20 volt, and the charger is 90Watts as I recall...

So its hungry, but finished fast. I typically charge it during the day to take advantage of surplus solar.

 

[Herbie]

Given how many USB adapters I've had to replace (because they either went bad or needed updating for various compatibility issues), I would never commit to hard-wiring USB sockets into my vehicle.

For all the efforts by the mobile tech industry to create a "Universal" DC power system (USB 1/2/3/C, Lightning, etc.), the most persistent power connector is actually the 12V cig-style socket.

If you're going to be pulling big loads, definitely upgrade to quality sockets and plugs (BlueSea stuff was mentioned, this is what I use), but if you hard-wire to a given USB standard, just know you'll be replacing things in a few years.

 

[Todd n Natalie]

I just use something like this:


Cheap and it works.

 

[nitro_rat]

I use a 12v mattress inflator and I carry a 12v air compressor that I use for inflating tires. I have replaced one of my dash 12v sockets with a dual USB charger. I find that I'm usually using the cargo area 12v socket for my 12v accessories. There is a 3rd seat 12v socket in the Excursion and I plan to change it to a dual USB eventually. I'll then have a 12v and USB in the dash, 12v in the 2nd row, USB in the 3rd row, and 12v in the cargo area.

 

[67cj5]

I just use something like this:
View attachment 570242

Cheap and it works.

I needed some of those and I bought a pair of them from a Truck Stop and when I went to use them where they get wider at the top it stops them from going deep enough to touch the centre contact in the 12v socket So I had to borrow one from my brother, It's a shame because the ones I bought were machined Alloy and tough as old boots,

Luck for me my 2 Lithium battery packs have 2 USB sockets in each one and my NOCO GB 150 and GB 70 have inputs also so I got things covered plus I have a small 310w inverter for small items and I have bigger inverters for bigger things.

 

[Justin Cook]

I have a 4-way switched 12v outlet distribution box that runs my radar detector, my GPS, my front/rear cameras and display, and a little "air ionizer" that's dumb as hell and I'm pretty sure it doesn't do anything buuut it has a cool LED light in it that pleases me, so I leave it in place.

I'd have hardwired everything already except that my GPS uses its factory 12v socket-ended cable as an antenna to pick up traffic updates so 1. I don't want to cut the end off because I'm worried about screwing up the antenna bit, and 2. the optional hardwire kit doesn't have an antenna in it, so it disables the live traffic updates option and that's actually been handy as hell a few times, so I'm pretty resigned to leaving it with a 12v socket end... which is why I left the other 3 devices connected that way too, because if I'm gonna have one I might as well have all 4.

 

[rayra]

A small 110VAC inverter that I use for Christmas Lights and small-draw electronics. And for recharging camera battaries.
A portable tire inflator.
Some USB / 5VDC plug-in adapters.
portable power plug for my Baofeng radios
12v power cord for laptop.

It's damned silly to think they are obsolete. sure there's better connection types. I have those too.

 

[67cj5]

A small 110VAC inverter that I use for Christmas Lights and small-draw electronics. And for recharging camera battaries.
A portable tire inflator.
Some USB / 5VDC plug-in adapters.
portable power plug for my Baofeng radios
12v power cord for laptop.

It's damned silly to think they are obsolete. sure there's better connection types. I have those too.

Not silly really because while you are running more important things from more modern power setup's Small Inverters are great is you need to power a few small wattage items via a multi sockets board when plugged in to the little inverter.

My fridges are my main concern so they are plugged in to my power packs. So this is where little inverters come in to their own even more so if you don't have the space to fit a few extra batteries or more Solar panels,